The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has called on the UN Human Rights Council to establish an independent and international inquiry into war crimes and past violations of human rights law in Sri Lanka.

IBAHRI Co-Chair Baroness Helena Kennedy QC said,

“In the absence of an independent judiciary, the IBAHRI has noted on multiple occasions the inability of the Sri Lankan legal system to provide redress for alleged human rights violations and war crimes.

“In light of this, the IBAHRI fully supports the recommendations put forward in the report of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and strongly urges the UN Human Rights Council, to adopt these recommendations in the forthcoming resolution on Sri Lanka.”

The Sri Lankan Police has stopped artists from performing a play, saying they were were ‘pro-LTTE’, reported the Uthayan.

The artists were going to perform traditional, cultural plays at the Amman Temple in Oorkaavaththurai, but the police took away the scripts moments before the start of the performances.

Local residents have condemned the police activities, Uthayan further said.

Channel 4 News has issued a report to counter what it has called Sri Lanka’s “propaganda offensive” today, after the Sri Lankan government distributed booklets across the world attempting to slur the channel.

The report, entitled “The Uncorrupted Truth”, was released by the British broadcaster, as Sri Lanka comes under increasing scrutiny over its human rights record, in the run up to the next session of the UN Human Rights Council in March.

A spate of Buddha statues have been planted across the North-East this month, reported the Uthayan and Tamil Mirror, some with direct involvement from the Sri Lankan security forces.

In Mulliyavalai, a Buddha statue was erected with Buddhist monks and police officials at the inaugurating ceremony.

A mass grave was uncovered in Udayairkattu, Mullaitivu on Thursday reports BBC Tamil.

Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister GL Peiris has said that member states in the UN Human Rights Council are not able to make independent decisions on the Sri Lanka resolution next month.

The Island reported Peiris as claiming members were being blackmailed to vote against Sri Lanka at the next session of the Council in March, and threatened with serious consequences if they failed to do so.

The release of Nalini, Robert Pious, Jayakumar and Ravichandran, who were jailed over the death of Rajiv Gandhi, has been halted by the Supreme Court in Delhi, overturning the decision made by Tamil Nadu’s state government.

“We have yet to see a meaningful, time-bound, independent, domestic-led political process with clear milestones in this matter.”

“The Opposition support the Government’s response to this question. Can the Minister confirm to the House that the Prime Minister will be true to his word on this, and that the Government will continue to work closely with the United States Administration and others at the forthcoming session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, to which she has already referred, in the order that an independent international inquiry can be set up at the earliest possible time?”